McGonagall's Black Moments
by AutumnSkiesAreBlue
Summary: A collection of drabbles focusing on my imagined relationship (none romantic) between McGonagall and Sirius Black. Will focus on various points of Sirius' life but with McGonagall's point of view. Rating may change.


**Minerva's Black Moments**

**Chapter 1 – On Meeting**

Minerva picked up her cup of tea and the long piece of parchment that had recently been placed next to it. Taking a sip from her tea, she began to read down the list of new students that would be sorted later that evening. She usually had fun guessing what house each student would be in and if she recognised any of their names from former students and school friends.

This time however, she stopped short at the fourth name: _Sirius Black._ So the heir to the most infamously dark and powerful family in Britain was finally coming to Hogwarts.

Minerva was under no delusions as to what he would be like. He was a sure fire Slytherin if ever there was one. The entire family belonged to that house after all. Never in the memory of the school had a Black been sorted into any house other than the Home of the Snakes and their heritage went back further than that too.

Minerva was also no stranger to the family. The current head of the family was two years behind her when she was at the school. He was immensely skilled in manipulation and hexes and certainly was not short of a few brain cells. She believed he was currently working in the Ministry, coercing politicians and controlling what laws were passed.

The teacher was also no stranger to the other Black offspring. Three daughters of Cygnus and Druella Black were all at Hogwarts the previous year, though the oldest had just left. The sisters were all skilled in different ways. Narcissa was an expert at manipulation and getting out of and staying out of trouble. Andromeda was incredibly intelligent and skilled at potions. Bellatrix on the other hand, was different altogether; she was brutal at best. Bellatrix Black was frequently at the height of investigations for bullying the younger years and it was thought that she was all too happy to use nasty curses on fellow students as well. The only problem was that they never had enough proof; she always used very underhand tactics that were difficult to detect.

As such, Minerva was under no illusions with the latest Black. He was sure to be just as powerful and intelligent as his father, if not more so. She imagined he would already be well-practiced in magic and would probably need very little teaching, for a few months at least.

With a resigned sigh, Minerva turned her mind away from her musings and her eyes back to the list of first-years.

After mentally sorting Iphis Pinkerton into Gryffindor, Minerva stopped short once again but this time she couldn't hold in a laugh. Black was going to have some rivalry this year. James Potter would be starting too. Son of a powerful auror and heir to another large (though not nearly as powerful and influential as the Blacks) pureblood family, the Potters were almost the exact opposite of the Blacks as far as ideals went. The Potters were staunch supporters of equality for all magical folk, whereas the Blacks were firm supporters of increasing the magical hierarchy and maintaining the power and influence of pure-blooded witches and wizards.

Yes, Black and Potter would be sworn enemies from the moment they glimpsed one another.

~#~

Minerva McGonagall's first impression of the new students as they walked into the Entrance Hall with faces full of wonder, was that they looked just like every other year before them.

It wasn't long before she pinpointed the young Black. He had the aristocratic features with the high cheekbones, grey eyes and dark hair. He was a little shorter than average but carried himself so assuredly and gave off such an aura of certainty that he easily made up for his shorter stature.

Minerva had gotten around half way through her usual greeting speech in which she mentioned the school houses before anything went amiss. At the first mention of Slytherin, a messy-haired, slight boy snorted and muttered not too quietly: 'no guesses that's where _he'll _end up' nodding pointedly in the direction of Black. Several students laughed quietly.

So it appeared Black and Potter had already met. Let the rivalry begin, she thought to herself.

'What makes you so sure you'll follow in daddy's footsteps, Potter? You won't have the guts to get past the tests they put you through before Sorting anyway.' Black said. He spoke with such assumed knowledge that many of his classmates looked at each other in horror.

It took a moment for Minerva to understand what the boy was up to. She caught a look of confusion cross the Potter boy's face, briefly followed by panic before being replaced by a clearly forced calm expression. Then it hit her, Black knew how the Sorting went, he was just trying to worry the other students and get one up on Potter.

'If I can't manage it then how in the name of Merlin will you, Black?'

Black just laughed to himself.

So distracted was she by this new power play that Minerva almost forgot she was there to introduce the children to Hogwarts.

She cleared her throat. 'Can I have your attention please?' The students all swivelled to face her and their big, bright eyes focused on her once more. 'We will shortly be going through these doors where you will be sorted into your houses before joining your fellow classmates.'

She did not bother to correct the assumption the children had made about their being a test. Half the fun was always in the surprise when it came to Hogwarts.

~#~

McGonagall returned to the Entrance Hall to collect the students after preparing for the sorting. Black was stood off to the side with a few other children she knew to be from powerful pureblood families though he wasn't conversing with any of them, they all looked at him as though he were a precious jewel. Potter was surrounded by several other children, clearly already popular.

She ordered them all in to a double file formation and led them into the Great Hall, smiling to herself at the astonished gasps from the children behind her.

She left them at the foot of the steps leading up to the teachers table and stood beside the Sorting Hat as it burst into song.

Upon its conclusion, Minerva noticed the relieved looks of the first-years as they realised that there would be no test.

'What! We just have to try on a smelly old hat?' Potter murmured.

The teacher noticed Black's shoulders shaking almost imperceptibly in laughter, yet his face did not change. Yes, she thought, he already had the behaviours common to the Black family.

'When I call out your name, you will come forward and place the Sorting Hat on your head. Then you will be sorted into your house and you will join the corresponding table.

'Abernathy, Morganna.'

'_Hufflepuff!'_

'Alton, Pamela.'

'_Ravenclaw!'_

'Avery, Cassian.'

'_Slytherin!'_

'Black, Sirius.' The hush that filled the school suddenly became tense as the older students realised that another Black had come to Hogwarts. At least there was no guessing as to what house he would be in. Even the muggle-born students knew that all members of the Black family were in Slytherin and always had been.

And yet, the Sorting Hat had barely touched the boy's head before it bellowed out: '_Gryffindor!'_

If the hush was tense before, then it quickly became shocked. Not even a teacher clapped for the student for they were all too stunned.

Minerva was frozen in her spot. Never in the history of the wizarding world had a Black been sorted anywhere other than Slytherin. And certainly none had had the qualities of a Gryffindor. But yet, the Sorting Hat was so sure it didn't even spend an entire second contemplating its decision.

Before she could catch herself, Minerva noticed the Black boy stood in front of her, holding out the hat.

What caught her attention though were his eyes. Previously she had just thought them a typical Black feature, now though she noticed they were a stormy grey which coincided well with the look of worry and surprise that even he could not disguise on his face.

The room was still deathly silent.

The head of Gryffindor house nodded slightly at her newest student as she took the hat off him and he strode off to join his silent housemates. No student moved over to allow him somewhere to sit; they were all too busy gaping at him.

Instead, he continued walking down the table to the point Minerva was worried he'd just keep walking until he reached the doors and leave the hall altogether. However, he simply took a seat at the very end of the table, facing distinctly away from the Slytherin house, all of whom looked in a state of utter confusing; caught between clapping, shock, and anger that the Gryffindors had stolen their most valuable house member who will never be.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, Minerva McGonagall raised the scroll once again and called out: 'Bones, Amelia.'

Shockingly, when the deputy headmistress reached the Ps, the Sorting Hat pondered far longer over James Potter than it did Sirius Black, though he too was quickly sorted into Gryffindor. Though he did not sit anywhere close to Black at the house table and was greatly cheered by his house when he walked over.

~#~

When Minerva finally reached: 'Yetton, Adelia.' who was sorted into: '_Slytherin!_' she rolled up the scroll and carried the hat off into the antechamber before returning to her seat at the teachers table.

Only then did she turn back to look at her house table. She was shocked to notice that Black was no longer sitting alone. A sandy-haired boy she vaguely remembered being Lupin, Remus appeared to be painstakingly trying to make conversation with the dark-haired boy. Said boy appeared to be lost in thought and worry and only seemed to be grunting in reply to the other boy's questions.

Glancing over to the Slytherin table, she then noticed that several of them were glaring in the direction of the Black heir, not least was the death glare coming from Bellatrix Black. This at once made Minerva think of what the familial fallout this revelation would be.

Turning her gaze instead to the food that had appeared in front of her, Minerva began to assess her own assumptions of the boy. He was clearly very different from his ancestors, despite first impressions. She had very rarely seen the Sorting Hat make a decision so quickly, and when it did it was only to sort a child with the house the rest of their ancestors had been sorted into.

Perhaps she had to rethink her beliefs about the younger Black and get to know him before making any further conclusions as to his nature.

_~#~_

_A/N_

_I've always been interested in the relationship between McGonagall and Sirius and it features in many of my other stories but I never really gone into much detail. _

_This'll just be a collection of drabbles that focus largely on McGonagall's thoughts about Sirius at various points in his life, probably won't get as far as imprisonment and death though, sorry._

_Updates will probably be variable as I'm working on another story at the minute but let me know what you think _


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